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Microplastic evidence and removal from the seaweed bioremediator Chaetomorpha linum
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Researchers evaluated microplastic presence and removal from the seaweed Chaetomorpha linum collected in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto and transplanted into an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system, using density-based extraction and spectroscopic identification to characterize trapped particles. The study demonstrated that macroalgae bioremediators can accumulate microplastics from their growth environment, raising considerations for their use in aquaculture-based pollution mitigation.
This study represents an attempt to evaluate the presence and removal of microplastics from the seaweed Chaetomorpha linum collected in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto and then transplanted in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system (IMTA), including macroalgae and other marine bioremediators in addition to reared fishes. Microplastics were removed from the seaweed by a procedure based on density separation by using three hypersaline solution extractions. The microplastics were classified in different shapes, dimensions and colours and some of them were analyzed through attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to assess their chemical composition. The here realized simple procedure allowed to remove microplastics from algae thus suggesting the potential employment of the studied algal species as a source of human food
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The seaweed Chaetomorpha linum cultivated in an integrated multitrophic aquaculture system: A new tool for microplastic bioremediation?
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Researchers tested whether the seaweed Chaetomorpha linum, grown in an aquaculture system, could trap microplastics from surrounding water. The seaweed effectively captured microplastic particles in its tangled filaments, and a simple washing procedure could remove most of the trapped plastics from the harvested biomass. This suggests that growing certain seaweeds could serve as a natural, low-cost way to filter microplastics from marine environments.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.